10A SPORTS THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2006 BASKETBALL Gators top preseason poll, ready for repeat 1375026250459892980000000000 7111 67 The same starting five that left the court in Indianapolis with Florida's first national championship will start this season with the No. 1 ranking. 30% OFF TODAY Discount available at all three KU Bookstores, Oread Books and online at kubookstores.com The Gators were the runaway choice Monday in The Associated Press' preseason college basketball poll — no surprise, since they have everyone back for a run at being the first repeat national champion since Duke in 1992. "We appreciate and respect that people think this highly of our basketball team," Gators coach Billy Donovan said Monday. "That being said, this ranking has everything to do with what we were able to accomplish last year and nothing to do with this year. We're very honored to be the preseason No. 1, but at the same time, we fully realize we have a lot of work ahead of us." Florida received 63 first-place votes and 1,788 points from the 72-member national media panel to easily outdistance North Carolina, which got the other nine No. 1 votes and 1,704 points. Some of that work comes early in the season with a game against third-ranked Kansas in Las Vegas on Nov. 25. The last preseason No.1 to win the national championship was Connecticut in 2004, and before that it was Kentucky in 1996. LSO, a Flem son, and U C L A , which lost to Florida in the championship game were fifth and sixth. George Mason, the first mid-major to reach the Final Four and the team the Gators beat in the national semifinals, received just one point, a single 25th vote. The last team to return all the starters from a national cham- Pittsburgh was fourth, matching its highest preseason ranking ever in 1987-88. by Georgetown, Wisconsin and Arizona. place vote. The Gators were the runaway choice Monday in The Associated Press' preseason college basketball poll no surprise since they have everyone back for a run at being the first repeat national champion since Duke in 1992. Florida received 63 firstplace votes easily outdistance North Carolina. pion was Arizona in the 1997-98 season. The Wildcats, who also won the title in Indianapolis and were the preseason No. 1 the next year, lost to Utah in the 1998 tournament, one win sh of the Final Four. Florida became the fourth team Ohio State had what was considered the nation's best recruiting class, though 7-foot-1 center Greg Oden won't be available until January while he recovers from offseason wrist surgery. Still, the Buckeyes were seventh, followed Texas A&M, which has four starters back from a 22-9 team that made the Aggies' first NCAA tournament appearance since 1987, is ranked for the first time since Dec. 30, 1980. Florida was 11th in last season's final poll and all but seven members of the preseason Top 25 were in the last rankings of last season. to win the national championship after not having been ranked in the preseason poll. The others were Texas Western in 1966, Villanova in 1985 and Syracuse in 2003. Alabama was 11th in the preseason poll and was followed by Duke, Texas A&M, Memphis, Boston College, Marquette, Washington, Connecticut, Creighton and Syracuse. UCLA was ranked in 221 consecutive polls from 1966 to 1980. Duke's current streak started with the preseason poll of 1996-97. Connecticut has the second-longest current streak at 59 weeks, a run that started with the final poll of 2002-03. Kansas and Kentucky have the longest current streak of consecutive appearances in the preseason rankings having been in every one since 1991-92. The last five ranked teams were Texas, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Nevada and Tennessee. Duke was No.1 the final rankings after the last regular season ended. This marks the Blue Devils' 186th consecutive poll appearance, the second-longest streak of all time. Champion Gators start season No.1 Others receiving votes. Wichita St. 181, Illinois 131, Gonzaia 129, Kavier 99, Florida St. 65, Louisville 62, Villanova 37, Indiana 31, StHobart 24, Arkansas 20, San Diego St. 19, DePauwel 16,Indiana 16, Oklahoma St. 13, Virginia Tech 8, Bucklen 6, Michigan 6, Houston 5, Southern Cal 7, Kansas St. 4, Akn 1, BYU 1, George Mason 1, Missouri St. 1, Oregon 1 TEAM RECORD PTS/ PV 1. Florida (63) 33-61 788 11 2. North Carolina (9) 23-81 704 10 3. Kansas 25-8 1,636 12 4. Pittsburgh 25-8 1,407 16 5. LSU 27-9 1,399 19 6. UCLA 32-7 1,394 7 7. Ohio St 26-6 1,391 6 8. Georgetown 26-10 1,271 23 9. Wisconsin 19-12 1,197 10. Arizona 20-13 1,157 11. Alabama 18-13 1,106 12. Duke 32-4 1,051 1 13. Texas A&M 22-9 868 14. Memphis 32-4 811 4 15. Boston College 28-8 772 7 16. Marquette 20-11 554 17. Washington 26-7 487 17 18. Connecticut 30-4 399 2 19. Creighton 20-10 384 20. Syracuse 23-12 367 21 21. Texas 30-7 366 9 22. Kentucky 22-13 332 23. Georgia Tech 11-17 262 24. Nevada 27-6 212 20 25. Tennessee 22-8 203 18 The top 25 teams in The Associated Press preseason college basketball poll, with first place vote in parentheses. 2005-06 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote and last year's final ranking. PAUL DAVIS A STRONG VOICE FOR KU AND HIGHER EDUCATION non-inexchange for allowing community colleges into the Regents system, KU and other state universities were promised increased funding to bring faculty salaries up to peer levels. Unfortunately, the Legislature hasn't lived up to its promise. State Representative Paul Davis has been working hard in Topeka to change this. Paul worked with Governor Kathleen Sebelius and legislative leaders to obtain millions of dollars in new funding for Kansas universities. Let's send Paul back to Topeka on November 7th to keep fighting for us! PAUL'S RECORD - co-authored a plan that would increase funding for KU and other universities so that the promises of the 1999 Higher Education Reorganization Act are met - advocated for an overdue pay increase for KU faculty and staff - fought efforts to restrict the academic freedom of KU faculty members - supports funding higher education properly so that there will be no further tuition increases for KU students - received a 98% rating for his support of Kansas universities by Citizens for Higher Education www.davisforlawrence.org Athletics Calendar TUESDAY 10358 Men's basketball vs. Emporia State, 7 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse Arthur Player to Player to watch: Freshman Darrell Arthur made himself at home in Allen Fieldhouse in his first out- last week. arthur scored 21 points in 22 minutes of play. Washburn coach Bob Chipman called Arthur the "freshman of the century." WEDNESDAY FRIDAY Volleyball vs. Colorado, 7 p.m., Horejsi Family Athletics Center Women's tennis at North Carolina Tournament, all day, Chapel Hill, N.C. - Women's tennis at North Carolina Tournament, all day, Chapel Hill, N.C. Cross Country, Midwest Regional Championships, TBA, Minneapolis SUNDAY Rowing, Sunflower Show down, TBA, Manhattan CLUB SPORTS Rowing teams spend weekend in Wichita SATURDAY ROWING Women's basketball vs. Iowa/Missouri St., WBCA Classic, TBA, Kansas City, Mo. Women's tennis at North Carolina Tournament, all day, Chapel Hill, N.C. The men's and women's club rowing teams went to Wichita this weekend to compete in the Frostbite Regatta. The women's team finished sixth in the Novice Four and the men's team finished fifth in both the first and second Novice Eight race. Jayhawks find success in Tennessee competitions The Jayhawks won the Open Men's basketball vs. Northern Arizona, 7 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse The Kansas rowing team competed at the Head of the Hooch regatta on Saturday and Sunday in Chattanooga, Tenn. "We had a good weekend," head coach Rob Catloth said. "We started off the weekend with a good Saturday and followed that up with an even stronger Sunday." The Jayhawks entered six boats in the Championship Double and four of them placed in the top 10. In the Championship Eight race, the Jayhawks' two boats finished 8th and 16th. Eight with a winning time of 16:36.0, the Championship Double in a time of 18:09.2, and LynnAnn Laugesen won the lightweight single in a time of 19:02.3. Teammate Elisheva Patterson finished second in that race. MLB Team announces Teahen Royals player of the year Kansan staff reports Women's basketball vs. Seeton Hall, WBCA Classic, 2 p.m., Kansas City, Mo. KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Third baseman Mark Teahen, who hit .290 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs, has been chosen the Kansas City Royals' player of the year, the team announced Monday. Voting was done by the Kansas City chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Teahen, 25, was hitting just .195 when he was demoted to Triple-A Omaha on May 5. But he returned June 3 and played like one of the best third basemen in the major leagues, hitting .313 with 19 doubles, five triples, 16 home runs and 60 RBIs the rest of the way. MLB Washington will be next Texas Rangers manager Now he will get his chance as a manager with the Texas Rangers. ARLINGTON, Texas — Ron Washington has always oeen a popular coach with players, stressing communication and letting them be themselves. who wanted and needed somebody with those characteristics Washington, a coach for the Oakland Athletics the past 11 seasons, was chosen over four other candidates to replace Buck Showalter and inherit a team that has had only one winning season since last making the playoffs in 1999. BIG 12 FOOTBALL Texas focuses on K-State game, Big 12 title AUSTIN, Texas — Losing to No. 1 Ohio State two months ago forced Texas to let go of the national championship race for a while and refocus on the Big 12. Eight straight wins later, the fourth-ranked Longhorns (9-1, 6-0 Big 12) can clinch a share of the South Division title and a berth in the league championship game with a victory Saturday night at Kansas State. "I like sitting where we are," said offensive tackle Tony Hills, "Ohio State was a nonconference game and we were able to focus on the task at hand, and that's winning the Big 12." V Associated Press 1 ---